The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is appointed to examine on behalf of the House of Commons the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its associated public bodies. The Committee's constitution and powers are set out in House of Commons Standing Order No. 152.

The Committee has a maximum of 11 Members, of whom the quorum for any formal proceedings is three. The members of the Committee are appointed by the House and, unless discharged, remain on the Committee until the next dissolution of Parliament. The present membership of the Committee is as follows[1]:

On 17 July 1997, the Committee elected Mr Gerald Kaufman as its Chairman.

The Committee has the powers to require the submission of documents, to examine witnesses and to publish Reports to the House accompanied by the evidence it has gathered. The Committee may meet during the Adjournment of the House and may hold meetings away from Westminster. The Committee may meet concurrently with other committees or sub-committees established under Standing Order No. 152 for the purposes of deliberating, taking evidence or considering draft Reports. The Committee may meet concurrently with the House's European Scrutiny Committee (or any of its sub-committees) or the Environmental Audit Committee for the purposes of deliberating or taking evidence. The Committee may exchange documents and evidence with any of these committees, as well as with the House's Public Accounts and Deregulation Committees.

The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All Reports of the Committee, including published evidence, together with press notices issued by the Committee, are available on the Committee's homepage at www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/cmshome.htm on the Internet.

All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Committee Office, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general inquiries is: 020 7219 6188; the Committee's e-mail address is [email protected]